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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tear — to rip
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. drill — army training
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. drill — the tool
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stand — to bear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com